Place upon the altar apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, squashes
and other late autumn fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds
and chrysanthemums are fine too.
Write on a piece of paper an aspect of your life which you may wish
to be free of; anger, a baneful habit, misplaced feelings,
disease.
The cauldron or some similar tool must be present before the altar as
well, on a trivet or some other heat proof surface (if the
legs aren't long enough). A small, flat dish marked with an eight spoked
wheel symbol should also be there.
[This is just what it sounds like. On a flat plate or dish, paint a
large circle. Put a dot in the center of this circle and paint eight
spokes radiating out from the dot to the larger circle. Thus, you have
a wheel symbol a symbol of the Sabbats, a symbol of
timelessness.]
Prior to ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones who
have passed away. Do not despair. Know that they have gone
on to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the physical isn't the
absolute reality, and souls never die.
Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle
of Stones.
Recite the Blessing Chant.
Invoke the Goddess and God.
Lift one of the pomegranates and, with your freshly washed Boline, pierce
the skin of the fruit. Remove several seeds and place
them on the wheel marked dish. Raise your wand, face the altar and
say:
On this night of Samhain I mark Your passing,
O Sun King,
through the sunset into the Land of the Young.
I mark also the passing of all who have gone
before,
and all who will go after.
O Gracious Goddess,
Eternal Mother,
You who gives birth to the fallen,
teach me to know that in the time of the
greatest darkness there is the greatest light.
Taste the pomegranate seeds; burst them with your teeth and savour their
sharp, bittersweet flavour. Look down as the
eightspoked symbol on the plate; the Wheel of the Year, the Cycle
of the Seasons, the End and Beginning of all Creation.
Light a fire within the cauldron (a candle is fine). Sit before it,
holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flames. Say:
Wise One of the Waning Moon,
Goddess of the Starry Night,
I create this fire within Your cauldron to
transform that which is plaguing me.
May the energies be reversed:
From the darkness, light!
From bane, good!
From death, birth!
Light the paper in the cauldron's flames and drop it inside. As it burns,
know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves
you as it is consumed within the universal fires. [The cauldron, seen
as the Goddess.] If you wish, you may attempt scrying or
some other form of divination, for this is a perfect time to look into
the past or future. Try to recall past lives too, if you will. But
leave the dead in peace. Honor them with your memories but do not call
them to you. [Many Pagans do attempt to
communicate with their deceased ancestors and friends at this time,
but it seems to me that if we accept the doctrine of
reincarnation, this is a rather strange practice. Perhaps the personalities
that we knew s till exist, but if the soul is currently
incarnate in another body, communication would be difficult, to say
the least. Thus, it seems best to remember them with peace
and love but do not call them up.] Release any pain and sense of loss
you may feel into the cauldron's flames.
Works of magick, if necessary, may follow.
Celebrate the Simple Feast.
The circle is released.
SAMHAIN LORE
It is traditional on Samhain night to leave a plate of food outside
the home for the souls of the dead. A candle placed in the
window guides them to the Lands of Eternal Summer, and burying apples
in the hard packed earth "feeds" the passed ones on
their journey.
For food, beets, turnips, apples, corn, nuts, gingerbread, cider, mulled
wines and pumpkin dishes are appropriate, as are meat
dishes (once again, if you're not vegetarian. If so, tofu seems ritually
correct). |
